No wonder the Ancients thought hominins might make good servitors.

[CordwainerFish]

Evidence for the earliest structural use of wood at least 476,000 years ago - Nature

Wooden artefacts from waterlogged deposits in Zambia dating back 477 ka indicate hitherto unknown sophistication in woodworking at an early date.

www.nature.com

 

[alex_greene]

I think there is evidence that Homo erectus learned to tame fire 1.9 million years ago, and Homo sapiens evolved out of erectus as a fire-using species. We were born with the knowledge of taming fire and cooking.
I think the more evidence that turns up, pushing back the calendar in favour of earlier and earlier technological development, the more we can imagine how useful Yaskoydray may have found us.
And his chagrin when we, as a species, would have started to Work Things Out and potentially grow to surpass him.
I'm coming up with the heretical notion that the Final War was not fought by 421 Superdroyne against one another.
It was all of them fighting against us apes.
I suspect the hominins won that fight.

 

[Sigtrygg]

The hivers conducted experiments with human seeded planets.

They were so worried by the results they scrubbed them...

 

[Sigtrygg]

Also, humans developed advanced civilisations several times over, only to be reduced to the stone age thanks to natural events, conflict, and their hubris.

The Ancients discovered humans during one of their stone age periods.

Going back to my "known space is a petri dish" hypothesis then humans are one of the potential "antibiotics"...